A rising boxing star was killed in a horrifying Texas road-rage incident after a driver allegedly slammed on his brakes, threw his car into reverse and rammed into her while she was cycling with her boyfriend.
Hannah Rapp, 26, was riding along the two-lane FM 159 highway in Brazos County on Saturday when 31-year-old Charles Medina passed dangerously close to her and her boyfriend, Will Pollalis, investigators said.
According to an arrest affidavit cited by KBTX, Medina allegedly came within about one foot of the cyclists as he overtook them.
Pollalis shouted at the driver and raised his hands in protest — a reaction familiar to many cyclists who have had a vehicle pass too close.
Authorities say what happened next turned deadly.
Medina allegedly hit the brakes, skidded to a stop and then reversed his vehicle directly toward the couple, striking Rapp with tremendous force.
The impact reportedly caused Rapp’s head to smash through the vehicle’s rear window before she was thrown from her bicycle.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died from her injuries.
Medina offered investigators a different account. He claimed he believed Pollalis was trying to flag him down, so he stopped and slowly reversed at approximately 15 mph to speak with him, according to the affidavit.
Police said the physical evidence did not support that explanation.
Investigators noted extensive damage to Medina’s vehicle, including a shattered rear window and a crushed rear hatch. They also found two separate sets of skid marks on the highway.
Authorities said the evidence suggested the car had braked sharply before accelerating in reverse and violently striking Rapp.
Medina was arrested and charged with manslaughter. He was being held on $250,000 bond as of Monday.
The 31-year-old suspect reportedly has an extensive criminal history, with 13 previous arrests in Brazos County dating back to 2012, according to online jail records obtained by KBTX.
Those arrests reportedly included allegations involving assault, hit-and-run, deadly conduct, escape from custody, theft, possession of a controlled substance and multiple driving offenses.
Rapp had quickly established herself as one of the most promising young fighters in women’s boxing.
Just last month, she challenged for the WBC women’s featherweight championship.
Before entering the boxing world, Rapp competed in track and field at Purdue University. She moved from Indiana to Texas in 2024 and worked as a fire and life safety inspector at Texas A&M while training and competing out of Bryan.
Friends described her as courageous, driven and deeply devoted to the people in her life.
A fundraiser created to help Rapp’s loved ones had already raised more than $20,000 by Monday.
“Hannah was resilient. She was brave and insightful, always pushing others to do their best,” the fundraiser said.
“She loved her family so incredibly much, and moving from Indiana to Texas meant distance for her friends and family,” the message continued. “Hannah was an inspiration. Even on her hardest days, she continued to bring love, laughter, and light into the lives of others.”
Her boxing coach, Carl Perry, said he broke down in tears when he learned she had died.
“She had positivity just coming from her. You could feel it when she walked into the gym. If there truly are angels on Earth, she was one of them,” Perry told News 8.
Perry recalled the first time Rapp entered his gym and immediately asked to spar with the male fighters.
She then “commenced to putting a whooping” on one of them, he said.
The coach believed Rapp had the ability to reach the highest levels of the sport.
“I think she would have become a hall of famer,” Perry said.
A growing memorial has been placed outside the Bryan College Station Boxing Gym, and plans are underway for a candlelight vigil in her honor.
